Outback fuel mileage regression for 2013

[pohnjarker]

i bought the car with 7 miles and when i left to come back overseas it had right under 1k miles. basically i filled the gas tank up twice and averaged about 26mpg.

will it go up, im sure it will and im not too worried about it. the wife is happy and it gets better gas mileage than my other car.

[Restlessk]

Originally Posted by pohnjarker

i bought the car with 7 miles and when i left to come back overseas it had right under 1k miles. basically i filled the gas tank up twice and averaged about 26mpg.

will it go up, im sure it will and im not too worried about it. the wife is happy and it gets better gas mileage than my other car.

26 mpg and a happy wife are both really good things!!!

As the original poster of this thread, I've given up on my obsession with gas mileage, and just keep the computer to miles to empty. Besides, I now have my roof system all sorted out, and my mileage results are less relevant because I generally now have bikes on the roof, paddleboards on the roof, or a Hobie Cat in tow, or some combination of that. And, with our original objective of the Subie was mostly as a toy hauler, we are finding that it does that better than anything else. It is a treat to put toys on top of an Outback rather than a traditional SUV that's maybe a foot higher!

[2013Sub]

I've driven my 2013 2.5 Ltd. only 4k miles so far, so I don't attach great significance to my mileage figures as yet, but I typically get around 24 mpg in my usual mixed driving. My best tank was just over 29 mpg, but that was returning from Mammoth Lakes (elevation around 5,000 feet) to Boulder Creek (elevation 500 feet), all on highways, so it wasn't surprising.

I have two observations regarding mileage. First, I find that the cruise control offers a way to increase mileage significantly (at least compared to my own lead-footed driving style.) You can't use it to accelerate from a dead stop, as it will only kick in between 25 and 30 mph, but thereafter, it accelerates more slowly and evenly than I do. I have worked out a way of using the buttons on the steering wheel to not only activate it ("set") and deactivate it ("cancel") but also use it to accelerate (by repeatedly pressing or holding the "reset" button.) This makes a significant difference in the mileage I get in non-highway driving.

My second observation is one that I found surprising but that I have been able to verify on a consistent basis: going over a hill -- that is, first uphill and then downhill, ending up at the same elevation that you started from -- actually results in a mileage gain. Let me explain: I live right on a river, at the base of a valley in the "mountains" north of Santa Cruz, California. Whether I travel south to Santa Cruz or north toward San Jose, I have to climb over a ridge before then dropping back down to roughly sea level. If I start out with a certain average mileage (let's say, arbitrarily, 21 mpg) on the computer, that average will drop as I climb. But if I am careful not to waste gas on the descent on the other side (for example, by using the cruise control), my average mileage will climb back up to where it started and then some. That is, I will make back all that I lost, plus a little bit, so that I end up with an average mileage of 21.3. This seems to be true regardless of the average mileage I am starting from. This is totally counter-intuitive to me, but I can reproduce this result with great regularity. Does anyone understand why that should be?

[WIBrewDude]

My thought is two fold. First, not sure you can completely trust the computers report, as it is estimating mpg based on fuel used. The difference might not be as great as it says it is.

Second thought is this: on the uphill side the engine is doing all the work. It runs higher revs and lower "gears" to get the car up the hill. On the downward side...the engine runs lower rpms in the highest gear possible which is the most efficient, and is assisted by gravity pulling the car down, returning a higher reported mpg.

Sent from my MB855 using AutoGuide App

[p nut]

Originally Posted by WIBrewDude

My thought is two fold. First, not sure you can completely trust the computers report, as it is estimating mpg based on fuel used.

Aren't all mpg figures based on fuel used? I found the OBC actually pretty accurate (compared to hand calculations).

I live at 4k ft, so I typically get slightly better mpg than you lowland folks. Here is what I got on a 60 mile trip, all highway. We're now at 3k miles and it's remained steady. We've got a 700 mile trip coming up so will see how she does.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/...-post1239.html

[Chaslau]

I concur with restlessk, the milage improvement claimed by Subaru is bunk. The collective results shown on fulley clearly demonstrated a steady decline of average milage from the 2010 on.
My best ever milage was achieved on my very first tank of gas, 27.5 mpg. I was pleased to say the least, thinking that things can only get better. The sad truth is, the average mpg has steadily declined to around 24mpg, similar to the average Fulley poster for theb2013 models.
I have never seen 24 mpg city or 30 mpg highway.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by Chaslau

I concur with restlessk, the milage improvement claimed by Subaru is bunk. The collective results shown on fulley clearly demonstrated a steady decline of average milage from the 2010 on.
My best ever milage was achieved on my very first tank of gas, 27.5 mpg. I was pleased to say the least, thinking that things can only get better. The sad truth is, the average mpg has steadily declined to around 24mpg, similar to the average Fulley poster for theb2013 models.
I have never seen 24 mpg city or 30 mpg highway.

And when did you get the car?

While its hard to ignore the data that the fuel usage hasn't been getting better with newer model years, we don't have good enough data on fuelly yet to make any general claims about the model year. We have less than half a year worth of solid data, especially with so many folks buying these models during the winter blend period. The 2012 has over a year, and so has been able to smooth out seasonal variations in mileage more. The 2011 has 2 years to smooth out seasonal variations, and so on.

It also doesn't help that the data is pointing to a 1mpg drop vs the 2012, when it should be a 1mpg gain on average. When seasonal variations are in the range of 10%, that more than accounts for the difference between current and expected averages. Put simply, we need more spring/summer miles to be tracked to determine how much of the lower average is the fact that our data is primarily fall/winter miles.

That said, there is some interesting data on the Forester side. When Subaru switched to the FB engine on the existing EAT, mileage remained fairly consistent. If there are mileage issues, I suspect they are related to other factors. The new generation CVT revs differently than the first generation, which could be contributing.

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by Restlessk

26 mpg and a happy wife are both really good things!!!

As the original poster of this thread, I've given up on my obsession with gas mileage, and just keep the computer to miles to empty. Besides, I now have my roof system all sorted out, and my mileage results are less relevant because I generally now have bikes on the roof, paddleboards on the roof, or a Hobie Cat in tow, or some combination of that. And, with our original objective of the Subie was mostly as a toy hauler, we are finding that it does that better than anything else. It is a treat to put toys on top of an Outback rather than a traditional SUV that's maybe a foot higher!

No doubt! Though I still like the Legacy height for the roof rack stuff. Spent 11yrs 180,000 miles hauling gear on the roof of the legacy. Far easier than the OB - but the OB is far far easier than our Sequoia. ;-)

[Shadow 1100]

You always see a decrease in fuel in the winter because of the winter mix of fuel, You should of bought a electric car. It's like a good women, it will get better, enjoy life.

[WINGED V]

I have come to the conclusion when the boxers engines are sucking cold air the mph drop off instantly ,the colder air the worse the mileage .

Drove my 2008 118,000 miles and that's how it acted and my new fb is the same.
Been averaging 25 26 lately " winter grade " and it warmed up to 60 the other week mileage went up to 29ish. Engines run much smoother with warmer air also.